TY - JOUR
T1 - Pulmonary infections mimicking cancer
T2 - A retrospective, three-year review
AU - Rolston, Kenneth V.I.
AU - Rodriguez, Saul
AU - Dholakia, Nizar
AU - Whimbey, Estella
AU - Raad, Issam
PY - 1997/3
Y1 - 1997/3
N2 - Pulmonary infections can mimic or occasionally co-exist with pulmonary neoplasms. In order to determine the frequency and nature of these infections, we conducted a retrospective analysis, covering a 3-year period, of patients who were referred to our center with presumed lung cancer but turned out to have pulmonary infection instead. The overwhelming majority of patients (93.3%) referred to 'rule out' lung cancer were documented as having a neoplastic process, and truly 1.3% had an infection. Fungal infections (histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, coccidiomycosis) accounted for 46%, mycobacteria for 27%, bacteria for 22%, and parasitic lesions (dirofilariasis) for 5% of these infections. The most common clinical manifestations were cough and chest pain, and the most common radiographic finding was a solitary pulmonary nodule. There were no specific clinical or radiographic features predictive of either infection or neoplastic disease. All patients responded to specific anti-infective therapy with or without surgical excision. Our data indicate that pulmonary infections mimic neoplasms very infrequently. However, establishing a specific diagnosis is critical, since tile management and outcome of these two processes are entirely different.
AB - Pulmonary infections can mimic or occasionally co-exist with pulmonary neoplasms. In order to determine the frequency and nature of these infections, we conducted a retrospective analysis, covering a 3-year period, of patients who were referred to our center with presumed lung cancer but turned out to have pulmonary infection instead. The overwhelming majority of patients (93.3%) referred to 'rule out' lung cancer were documented as having a neoplastic process, and truly 1.3% had an infection. Fungal infections (histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, coccidiomycosis) accounted for 46%, mycobacteria for 27%, bacteria for 22%, and parasitic lesions (dirofilariasis) for 5% of these infections. The most common clinical manifestations were cough and chest pain, and the most common radiographic finding was a solitary pulmonary nodule. There were no specific clinical or radiographic features predictive of either infection or neoplastic disease. All patients responded to specific anti-infective therapy with or without surgical excision. Our data indicate that pulmonary infections mimic neoplasms very infrequently. However, establishing a specific diagnosis is critical, since tile management and outcome of these two processes are entirely different.
KW - Cancer
KW - Fungi
KW - Infections
KW - Mycobacteria
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U2 - 10.1007/BF01262563
DO - 10.1007/BF01262563
M3 - Review article
C2 - 9069606
AN - SCOPUS:0030946326
SN - 0941-4355
VL - 5
SP - 90
EP - 93
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
IS - 2
ER -